Genre : Urban Fantasy / Epic/ SuperheroesSeries : Sign of the Zodiac, Book 5
Publisher : Eos (May 25, 2010)
No of page : 368
At the end of the last book, City Of Souls, Joanna sacrifices her superhero power to save one mortal child, and that means she no longer possesses the super ability and is reduced to just another mere mortal . Thus, Warren, the head of Light side, banishes her from the group and orders other superheroes from helping or even contacting her.
Joanna may live happily afterwards. Unfortunately, she is now a mortal who has learnt about the super world, and who has been a target of Shadow…still. So, apart from being betrayed and feeling disappointed with losing those being her friends after her power, our lady is also living in dread of having her life taken, especially when Sleepy Mac, lethal killer from Midheaven has been sent to Las Vegas to end her.
In order to survive, she has no other choices than taking up offer from unlikely allies and walking through unlikely path.
The first thing coming to my mind after finishing Cheat the Grave is Vicki Pettersson (or VP onwards) has done splendid job on plotting complex yet elegant story lines. All the events and incidents in the series prove that she has carefully designed and laid her outlines in multi-layered ties. And they are all elegant in the way that everything is in harmony and supported by reasons and ideas that makes even every little thing makes sense!
For that, a lot of beyond-expectations have been mentioned and solved in this book. Particularly, puzzles on her mother, Zoe. As we have seen Jo feeling bitter and neglected by her mother’s abandon after the abusive damage happened to her. (Spoiler) [Nevertheless, Zoe never leaves her daughters at all. She disguises into Suzanne, the stepmother of Cher who was Oliver’s best friend. So, having become Olivia, Jo is being close to Suzanne too.]
Personally, this is one of the greatest twisters for two reasons. One is VP has created the impossible to become possible, for the opposite differences between two characters had prevented us readers from such possibility. This also serves as an explanation and reconciliation between the daughter and the mother. Since, while what her mother has done is for saving Jo herself, yet leaving Jo in time the daughter needed her most is quite unforgivable or irreconcilable. Still, such turning plot eases up everything.
Another solved enigma is the truth about Hunter. (Spoiler) [In the end, the weapon master did not betray Jo as herself and the readers may think. He has been exploited by his ‘wife’ and Warren. (Warren could not allow having anything or anybody to have Jo’s attention, bar from completing her Kairos duty for Warren. Most importantly, the one he loves the most is Jo!)] This explanation may sound plain and simple; however, the story lines in book three and four show the cleverness of VP in inputting us with misleading anticipation, one that loaded with one-sided information that will later trick us, especially when what has happened is not what has been early predicted.
And that is also VP’s success in turning Hunter’s status (Spoiler) [from the very active betrayer and mean plotter in the last book into passive victim in Cheat the Grave. After the current book, readers won’t be left with his bad actions and impressions any longer. On the other hand, we will pray for book six and pray for the time when Jo returns to Midheaven to rescue Hunter to the real world!]
Thinking out of the box also fills the book with excitement. Should things be normal, when virtue and evil are together, we always choose the former. Yet, sometimes boundaries and lines dividing such virtue and evil are never clear. And so, we can not place the Light over or have them win over the Shadow, since everything should live equally for the right balance. As we have seen this kind of balance in the book, (Spoiler) [there is a forming/ rising of the Grays, which consist of the former Shadow and Light members who see the potential of middle realm.]; and this also confirms the fifth sign for (Spoiler) [the Shadow binding with the Light.] Seriously, such directions are more interesting than taking one’s side blindly.
This is simply true when those assisting her in this book are simply her former enemies,
(Spoiler) [and the ones who save Jo are the former Shadows turning Grays, in particular Harlan Tripp, the rogue Shadow member who fought with Jo before in Midheaven, who offers his life for saving Jo near the end of the book.] And, at the same time, those who once stood with Jo are now her nemesis.
Somewhat, this turning also presents the dark side of the Light. As for claiming themselves with the reason of protecting the ‘goodness’ and doing the good deeds, they take any means (and even ‘mean’ approaches) and see the world around them so one-sidedly that their minds have become restricted. It has been announced that the troop opens for everyone. Yet, in reality, this side is under the domination of Warren and Tekla, and can not accept and respect those outside their own group. For instance, they say they protect mortals, but they also see these lives are more inferior and have less meaningful than theirs. Additionally, this sense of protection is from their sense of duty, rather than the needs to help other people at all.
As for Jo herself, coming from outside society and being half-shadow means they never ever truly accept her, no matter how much she has done a great boons. What best reflects the depravity of the Light apart from discarding after she stops being useful to them is that (Spoiler) [ Warren and Tekla, upon seeing Jo as not being a pure Light, failed to let Jo know that she needed to trade her life essence for passing in and out Midheaven world. And, at that time, Jo was still even in full use for the troop.]
While the bad guy is no doubt Tulpa, and the series see him with almighty power; the last two books finds him with a lot of limits. Still, such limitations are somewhat one of the great charms of Sign of the Zodiac series, for nothing is absolute, nothing is perfect in itself; anything imperfect is more alluring and interesting. In my view, the real villain is certainly Warren. Again, the man uses everyone around him as a prawn and does not hesitate to throw those no longer being useful for him away. I like Machiavelli and try to see Warren that way, but I can’t refrain myself from loathing him. (Not even refrain my thoughts though!) Therefore, I only felt satisfied Warren when upon hearing Jo exposing Warren’s action; trust in this leader has gone wavered. Although the level of doubt is still low, it will definitely affect his status in the troop in the future. (Sweet time to come!)
Without Warren who sees everything cut clear in black and white, the coalition of the Light and the Shadow would eventually be more likely.
On the other hand, being separated from the troop and living her own life (and later on re-making her identity) helps bring about the new direction of the series. Had it not been this way, it would have follow the same old script, which Jo acted by her own instinct during the assigned job and messed everything up, making the whole Light side get furious and suspicious about her. But then, all her good deeds and feat (especially the confrontation with Tulpa) would let the group re-embrace her back. And had the book gone along with this pattern, and with emphasizing on her Kairos status; it would make a predictable storyline for readers, leaving us tired at the end. (However, the one-great-nemesis-per-one-book concept is still on.)
One striking potential is another growth of Jo in Cheat the Grave. This is because after her life being shaped and molded as Kairos and the troop’s member and fighter, she had lived and lived with those expectations placed upon her. That’s why when that life has gone, her identity as well as reason for living is also gone. For her to search for the new identity coming from the new purpose of life brings about one great development, one that teaches Jo on understanding life and its meaning with her own terms, apart from what others (Warren, to be precise) created and imposed upon her. (And this is ironic that the one who gives Jo this reason of life is dying Tripp.) And seeing and knowing her life’s worth helps Joanne to see her ability – she now realizes, even now as a mere mortal, she can make differences, huge differences. (Actually, Jo is never a mere mortal anyway, when she still continues her unbelievable performances such as touching and using others’ conduits.)
Eventually, she stands up and acts for herself. As said in the City Of Souls review, the development of Jo herself is ongoing - and she is getting better and better from each book to the next, especially when compared to Book One. Definitely, this is one of the most outstanding features of this series. Sign of the Zodiac creates its characters and let us see the better and the best of the main characters along their transformation, although during the path these characters (Jo, actually) see the worst of their reality that they are off tract and lost from time to time. Nevertheless, somewhat detours and difficulties are indeed the part that makes the series realistic and full of life from never-give-up attitude and action, which is very different from easy happy ending in any fixed formula.
Nevertheless, ignorance, Jo’s one greatest flaw, is here still. The series of crises makes her befall in the bottom of self-pitiness and neglect things around her. In this aspect, while she may be regarded as self-loving and self-centered creature, she becomes careless with the world. From the beginning of the series, had she looked wider, Jo could have grabbed as well as created many opportunities to favor herself better. Alternatively, she claimed that the beauty-without-brain character that she inherits from Olivia is for tricking other people. Nevertheless, there have been too many times she plays along with the attribute far too much. For example, she knows the board meeting that she is to for the first time as a head will be held in the morning, but she still goes to Suzanne’s wild party until the late of the night. The party (including the incident with Shadow) makes her doze up during the meeting, yet she is furious when others look down at her. She also tells herself that she has already paid attention to her meeting documents but she understands only nothing, even though she can find someone to explain the materials to her.
In City of Souls, there was an introduction of Midheaven. And with the complexity of that created dimension, combined with Jo leaving part of her essence/ ability there; there was also an expectation that she may return there again. And here in book five, the expectation just met with the actual reality! The significance of Midheaven as a relative variant affecting her power - both in personal terms as a superhero and in group term as a supporting/ adding arsenal - seems to be large. This is especially true when (Spoiler) [Jo needs to save Hunter there.]
While reading the previous releases, it has been clear that the heroine has only seen the dark and cruel parts of life. Therefore, we readers have become reluctantly familiar to see what will happen to her during our thrilled reading, for nothing comes easily and free. This is especially true when I was given this book, and the giver warned me that she had talked to VP in RT, and VP said that Cheat the Grave was much, much more terrible than the last one!
Nevertheless, after finishing this book, it must be stressed that this has been the only one in the series that we start to see light at the end of the tunnel! Our dear superhero-turns-mortal has not much been through a lot of real horrible adventures. (Somewhat, the cruel thing that happens to Luna the Cat is the most sickening time in the book, and yes, in the series) For the sum-up, it should be, should be, should be …. something I don’t yet come up with! And for the grade, I would like to give A for its beautiful plots and use of words. However, I was a bit annoyed with Jo in the beginning of the book, although I realise that I should have not. For what she has been through, to go back and function normally was unlikely. Also, the book should indeed take time to relay these hard moments of her: let the readers see her hurt feeling and later her bring back to action. And so, A for realistic transformation and B+/A for bringing the readers to edge with her never-stable life!
And the conclusion is “Cheat the Grave made me Cheat the Bed”!
I’m happy, Happy, and happy! (Spoiler) [Here we will see the comeback of Hunter in the next book. This couple is for the couple! From my reading experience, exchange of essence between the characters (which is done through aureole in this case.) usually links to creating bonds that last eternal between them. (That also is the reason why Hunter’s betrayal was hard to read!) Also, this book sees the more delicate feelings of the two!]
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